Your complete guide to exploring New York City this winter

Your complete guide to exploring New York City this winter

Your complete guide to exploring New York City this winter

There are countless reasons to love New York City in every season, but a wintertime visit is like no other, with quintessential experiences for snow lovers, art buffs, trendsetters and more.

Explore New York City’s winter wonderland, inside and out. We show you how with the help of NYC & Company:

Skate in the concrete jungle

The brand-new Pier 17 in Seaport District NYC is home to New York City’s first rooftop ice-skating rink, complete with views of the Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan.

The Rink at Rockefeller Center is open for the season, offering visitors an iconic skating experience right next to the plaza’s beloved Christmas tree.

Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park offers NYC’s only free admission skating rink, in addition to various shopping, food and beverage experiences.

Central Park’s Wollman and Lasker Rinks are back again this year with various free skate and lesson offerings, among stunning views of the iconic park and city skyline.

Brooklyn’s Prospect Park is home to LeFrak Center at Lakeside, a weather-proof experience with roof-covered and uncovered rinks on-site.

Hit the (sledding) slopes

Those looking to go sledding in New York City’s most famous parks should look no further than Pilgrim Hill in Central Park, Inwood Hill Park’s trails on the Upper West Side, Riverside Park alongside the Hudson and Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

The Bronx Museum of the Arts is hosting the first comprehensive survey in the US of celebrated painter and Bronx native Rochelle Feinstein with Image of an Image.

From February 8, Brooklyn Museum will present the life and work of the famed Mexican painter with Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving.

Starting today, The Met Fifth Avenue is exploring more than six decades of abstract art with Epic Abstraction: Pollock to Herrera.

In Queens, A Whole Different Ball Game: Playing Through 60 Years of Sports Video Games at the Museum of Moving Image is an interactive experience displaying the complex relationship between game, sport, media and culture that has evolved, as technology has.

Impractical Jokers: Homecoming is on display through March 17 at the nearby Staten Island Museum.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum will debut a two-phase exhibition of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe’s work, starting January 25.

The Whitney Museum of American Art is paying tribute to Andy Warhol with a retrospective of his four-decade career through the end of March.

Photo Courtesy of Arlo Hotels.

Indulge in hot cocoa by a renowned chocolatier

At Jacques Torres, on the Upper West Side, visitors can watch the magic happen on the factory floor, while sipping on a delicious hot beverage.

First opened in 1923, Li-Lac Chocolates is the longest-operating chocolate house in Manhattan, offering sweet treats and unique style. Originally out of Greenwich Village, Li Lac now has five locations around the City.

A Slice of Brooklyn’s Chocolate Tour—NYC’s only chocolate bus tour—stops at four of the borough’s most exclusive chocolatiers.

Serendipity 3, in Midtown East, is known for turning the drink on its head with a delicious frozen hot chocolate.

230 Fifth has various adult spins on hot chocolate, cider and coffee at its heated igloo rooftop bar

Shop ’til you drop

Nike debuted an innovative six-story flagship in November on Fifth Avenue that includes a personalised digital experience and the largest collections of Nike footwear in the world.

Toy store legend FAO Schwarz is back in NYC, with a 20,000-square-foot flagship at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

This year Nordstrom made its first foray in New York City with a flagship men’s store in Columbus Circle (women’s store to come in fall 2019).

Restoration Hardware debuted RH New York The Gallery, a new 90,000-square-foot retail experience in the Meatpacking District this year.

See a brand-new Broadway show

London West End transfer Ferryman has been extended by popular demand, through the first half of 2019.

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird comes to life onstage for the first time, as written by Aaron Sorkin.

Tony, Olivier, Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Bryan Cranston stars in Network as a struggling news anchorman, now through April 28.

The Prom has earned rave reviews of its story of a teen barred from bringing her girlfriend to the prom.

Tour Manhattan and get your workout in at the same time

Kill two birds with one stone with Fit Tours, which combines fitness and sightseeing with unique tours including Central Park 5K and 5K Core Tour, both offered in January and February (dress accordingly).

Photo courtesy of FIT Tours

Catch a game

Iconic teams like the Knicks, Nets, Rangers and Islanders are buzzing with excitement in the middle of competitive seasons this winter.

NYCFC returns to Yankee Stadium in January to kick off its 2019 MLS season, looking to again be one of the top teams in the league.

Pro Bull Riders (PBR) opens its season at Madison Square Garden for the 12th consecutive year on January 4.

At the iconic Empire State Building, visitors can take in views of the City in all its winter glory. Those looking to beat the crowds can head up to the observatories in the wee hours – they are open until 2am.

Lower Manhattan’s One World Observatory offers 360-degree views of the destination and New York Harbor, in addition to an immersive digital experience which includes SkyPod elevators that reveal the destination’s transformation over the last 500 years – complete with snow during the winter season.

Top of the Rock is perfectly situated in the heart of New York City’s winter festivities, providing spectacular views of Rockefeller Center, Central Park and the City’s sprawling skyline.